LeBron James acknowledges that what Kyrie Irving did was wrong… but the Lakers superstar still defended the Nets point guard on Thursday, claiming the punishment KI is now facing is excessive.
James, who played with Irving in Cleveland for several seasons, took to Twitter to express his feelings on the matter to his fans, writing several tweets while recovering from a lower-body injury.
“I told you guys that I don’t believe in sharing hurtful information,” James said. “And I’ll continue to be that way, but Kyrie apologized, and he should be able to play. That’s what I think. It’s that simple.”
Irving was suspended by the Nets last Thursday after repeatedly refused to apologize for tweeting a link to the antisemitic film, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!”
The team called the ban indefinite — saying Irving would have to satisfy “a series of objective remedial measures that address the harmful impact of his conduct” in order to return to the floor.
According to Shams Charania, some of the stipulations included sensitivity training, antisemitic training and meetings with Jewish leaders.
James clearly feels it’s all too much … adding, “Help him learn- but he should be playing. What he’s asked to do to get back on the floor I think is excessive IMO. He’s not the person that’s being portrayed of him.”
For his part, Irving did finally apologize … and, per Charania, had a ‘productive’ meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver over it all earlier this week.
